Millions of individuals suffer from various types of pain on a daily basis. Conditions such muscular or tendon damage that are inflamed as a result of injury or other reason cause individuals significant pain and can be debilitating. Another source of pain results from damage to the human body's connective tissue, more specifically but not by way of limitation, inflammation of the connective tissue, plantar fascia, is a common condition that can result in significant pain for the individual. As is known in the art, the plantar fascia is the connective tissue on the sole of the foot. Inflammation can be a result of overuse or other cause and the condition can be difficult to treat.
One issue with current treatment devices such as commonly available orthotics is the requirement for the individual to utilize a shoe. Conventional orthotics provide a cushioned support surface that is placed within a shoe so as to provide proper support and positioning required to treat the inflamed plantar fascia. Patient compliance with the required utilization of these conventional devices has shown to be a problem.
Another issue with current treatment devices such as conventional orthotics is their inability to provide temperature therapy. Depending upon the foot condition being treated, it is routine to be prescribed either a cold therapy or heat therapy in the treatment thereof. Conventional orthotics are not manufactured of the required materials to deliver the aforementioned temperature therapies. Additionally, dependent upon the severity of the condition, a topical analgesic may be prescribed in order to alleviate the pain. Conventional orthotics are not structured to provide any delivery of topical analgesics or ointments for pain relief.
Additional conventional treatment devices include splints. Conventional splints are utilized to provide stretching of the plantar fascia in order to alleviate the pain. While conventional splints have been shown to be effective, these existing devices are not structured to provide integration with other treatment device.
Accordingly, there is a need for a foot pain treatment device such as but not limited to plantar fasciitis that facilitates improved patient compliance and includes elements not found within existing technologies.